M&T Bank Corp Raises Stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the third quarter worth $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $92,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CNA Financial by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the second quarter worth about $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on CNA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CNA opened at $47.12 on Thursday. CNA Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $41.42 and a 1 year high of $52.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.32. The company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 9.26%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $1,119,933.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,521,628.75. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Company Profile

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products.